WhatsApp, the favored messaging app owned by tech large Meta, is bowing its first unique leisure venture later this month — a brief movie that includes NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, born in Greece to Nigerian dad and mom, was named the 2021 NBA All-Star MVP and led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Finals title that 12 months. Within the 12-minute movie, titled “Naija Odyssey,” the professional basketballer “tells his origin story of many origins as he reconciles his roots, birthplace and sense of belonging between cross-cultural worlds,” based on WhatsApp’s description. The athlete inked an endorsement take care of WhatsApp in February of this 12 months.
Narrated by Antetokounmpo and his mom, Veronica, “Naija Odyssey” is loosely based mostly on the traditional Greek epic poem “The Odyssey,” depicting totally different moments in his life. “In Greece, my academics informed tales of vacationers battling the ocean, preventing to search out their approach residence — to search out themselves,” Antetokounmpo says within the voiceover for the movie’s trailer (watch beneath). “I used to be on that very same journey.”
“Naija Odyssey” is directed by filmmakers Nono Ayuso and Rodrigo Inada and edited by Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, who gained the 2021 Oscar for movie modifying for Amazon Studios’ “Sound of Steel.” WhatsApp will launch the movie on Sept. 21 on its social media channels, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.
Why did WhatsApp fee the movie? The venture is mostly a piece of branded content material searching for to capitalize on Antetokounmpo’s worldwide fame and talk the message that WhatsApp can carry individuals collectively. “‘Naija Odyssey’ is a narrative that reinforces how WhatsApp helps us embrace our multifaceted lives,” mentioned Vivian Odior, WhatsApp’s world head of selling. “In navigating relationships, id, and even adversity, WhatsApp is there — enabling you to embrace all sides of you by connecting you to those that matter most.”
The uplifting message of “Naija Odyssey” seems partially designed to counter the narrative that WhatsApp has helped gas the unfold of misinformation and furthered societal divisions — which in some circumstances has led to real-world violence.
Meta (previously Fb) acquired cellular messaging app WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. WhatsApp now has greater than 2 billion month-to-month customers. The WhatsApp deal is cited within the FTC’s pending antitrust lawsuit in opposition to its mother or father firm, with the company alleging that the acquisition was a part of Fb’s anticompetitive modus operandi to purchase up potential opponents. Meta has mentioned the FTC’s claims are “an effort to rewrite antitrust legal guidelines and upend settled expectations of merger overview.”
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